Ironing table



Jan. 16, 1940. c. ToNN 2,187,593

IRONING TABLE filed oct. 19, 1956 Patented Jan. 16, 1940 *v `UNITED STATES PATENT A OFFlCE Henry V. Keller,

Minneapolis, Minn.

Application October 19, 1936, Serial No. 106,322

1 Claim.

This invention relates to ironing tables of that general type, wherein the ironing board proper is provided with folding or collapsible supporting n mechanism. attached to the under side and ar '5*' ranged in such a way that the supporting mechanism may be collapsed for storage or shipment.

It is an object of my inventionto provide a coilapsible ironing table oi simple and inexpensive kconstruction which may quickly and easily be set up for use or collapsed for storage.

It isanother object of my invention to provide such an ironing table which, though light in construction, is extremely rigid and so balanced that it will not tip over when pressure is applied to any part of the top surface oi the board.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide bracing means for inter-connecting the supporting legs of the table and also to provide bracing means to prevent the supporting mem- 2o: bers from collapsing, the last mentioned bracing means being so arranged that itmay quickly and easily be placed in locking position,` without any manual setting of the braces or locking means.

It is a still further object of my invention to 25 provide a table which, when in its collapsed position, provides a compact arrangement which requires a minimum of space when the article is being shipped or stored.

These and other objects and. advantages oi the invention are more fully set forth in the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views, and, in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective view oi' the embodiment of my invention set up for use;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a rear end elevation; and

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan. View showing the table 4o in collapsed position.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawing, I provide a iiat top or board 5 which may be of the conventional shape used in ironing boards. Secured on the underside of the board is a transverse attachment bracket E having downwardly turned ears on the ends thereof adapted to pivotally receive sections of angle iron 1 which form the upper portions of the rear leg members. Pivoted near the lower ends of the angle iron sections 1, are the sections 8 which form the lower portionsof said rear leg members. It will be noted that these upper and lower leg sections are connected slightly above the lower end of the upper leg section l to prevent the rear legs from breaking in a direction in which the pivot point where they are joined together moves forwardly. The pivot connecting the leg sections is indicated at S and is positioned as described` above. A suitable rigid cross brace ill connects the rear leg members near their lower ends to provide rigidity and I prefer that the ends of said leg members be turned outwardly to provide a wider supporting base for the ironing board or top.

Secured to a transverse attachment bracket l l, similar to thebracket E, is a pivotally connected forward leg member comprising a pair oi arms l2 which are spaced apart at their upper ends where they are connected to the ends oi the bracket Il and which converge to meet substantially at the point where the leg member contacts the iioor. Pivotally secured to the lower end oi the leg member i2, is a rigid brace member i3 whose opposite ends are connected respectively to each oi the. lower sections 8 of the rear leg members.. The brace i3 is of suiiicient length that the front leg member t2 extends downwardly and. forwardly to point near the front end oi the board' 5 the rear leg members extend downwardly and rearwardly to a point near the rear end of said board.

A rear bracing member lli is pivotaily secured on the under face of the rear end of the board` 5 to a bracket member l5 and also to the lower sections i! of the rear leg members. The brace i4, as shown in Figs. 3 and e, diverges from the centrally pivoted bracket l5 to connect with said legs.

An improved rear leg locking member it, of substantially U-shape, has its ends p-ivotally secured at l? and lia tothe rear under face ci the board 5 and at its base portion ita is made wider than the distance between the upper leg sections l, as best shown in Fig. 4. Therefore, when the table is set up, the locking member it is so arranged that its free end will swing downwardly to engage the upper sections oi the rear leg portions 'i to prevent the rear leg members from breaking at their joint 5l. Ii desired, a cross brace I8 may be provided between the upper sections f..

of the rear legs at their pivoted. breaking point.

The lower ends of the front and rear leg members are provided with rubber floor-engaging tread members IS and 20 to prevent the legs from slipping, and, for convenience, I provide a loop 2l secured on the rear bracket i5 in order that the table may be hung on a hook when it is in collapsed position.

In Fig. 2, the ironing table is shown set up and ready for use. It is apparent from the drawing that the supporting legs are so positioned and distributed that weight can be applied either at the extreme front or rear end without causing the opposite end to lift off the floor, and it should also be noted that the rear end of the board member is left comparatively free in order that a skirt or similar article of clothing may be slipped over the rear end as well as over the entirely unobstructed Vfront end.

When it is desired to collapse the table, the locking member I6 is swung up flush with the under face of the board 5, and the rear legs may then be broken or collapsed by a backward pressure on the joint 9 or forward pressure on the lower extremities of said rear legs, causing the lower sections 8 of the rear leg members to turn about their point of pivotal connection with the rear brace I4, the leg section above the point of connection with the brace I4 moving rearwardly and that part of the leg sections below the brace I4 moving forwardly. At the same time, the brace I3 which connects the rear legs with the front legs will cause said front leg to swing forwardly. It is obvious that this longitudinally swinging movement will also be accompanied by a swinging movement of all the leg members toward the under side of the board member 5, until all legs and braces lie substantially flat against the under side of said board member, as shown in Fig. 4. The table may be collapsed by placing it with the rear end of the board on the floor, tipping it to move the locking member out of position, and pulling upwardly on one of the rear legs.

When it is desired to set the table up, it is only necessary to hold the top 5 in a substantially horizontal position and the leg members will fall by gravity into their set-up position,v the locking member I6 dropping down behind the upper section 1 of the rear leg members to prevent them from collapsing at their point of connection 9 with the lower sections 8 of said rear leg members.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a light but extremely rigid collapsible ironing table of simple and inexpensive construction which may quickly and easily be set up and just as easily returned to its collapsed position. It is also desirable to note that when the table is collapsed, substantially all of the braces and leg members are positioned within the area of the under face of the board member 5. With this arrangement the table may be shipped and packed in a minimum of space.

One of the important features of my invention is that all parts are supported by the board member and require no manual setting of braces, locking elements or the legs.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, proportions and arrangements of the parts without departing from the scope of my invention, which, generally stated, consists in a device capable of carrying out the objects above set forth, and in the novel parts and combinations of parts disclosed and defined in the claim.

What is claimed is:

In an ironing table, a top,-a front leg pivotally connected to said top, collapsible rear legs pivotally connected to said top, said collapsible legs including pivoted break joints whose pivots are adapted to move rearwardly when said joint is broken, a brace connecting portions of said jointed rear legs to said top rearwardly of the first mentioned connection between said rear legs and said top, and a rear leg locling element comprising a member pivoted to said top and extending forwardly into engagement with said jointed rear legs at the rear sides of said legs, said rear legs when set up being substantially tangent to the arcuate path of movement of said locking member, whereby said locking member is positioned to swing into wedging engagement with said rear legs.

CHRIST TONN. 

